


Icebreath's Kit

by MariusAngelicaSue



Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Dark Forest, Depressing Story, location and stuff is kept ambiguous
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-13
Updated: 2016-09-13
Packaged: 2018-08-14 22:28:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8031394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MariusAngelicaSue/pseuds/MariusAngelicaSue
Summary: Two Starclan leaders dwell on the story of a queen, now trapped in the dark forest.





	Icebreath's Kit

 

 "She mourns again."

       A cat sat hunched over a pool, staring deep into its reflection with her bright, green eyes. In that reflection was not her, but instead another cat, with a grey pelt dappled with white, like fresh snow resting on stone. A cat, the one the green-eyed she-cat was talking to, walked up behind her, emerging from the dark. "What about her?" he snapped. The green-eyed cat looked up at the tom, sadness swirling in them. "We send notorious cats to those depths. Their hearts are so cold, their pride so strong, none have ever  _ tried  _ mourning for anybody but themselves."

       She looked back at the grieving cat. "And yet, here we have this queen, this  _ mother,  _ cast down to those horrible trees, and she grieves everyday for her child. Do you really think we did the right decision, Tanglestar?"

       Tanglestar sighed, the thorny image he was trying to keep up fading. "I'm not sure, but it's too late to do anything now. She can’t leave. You shouldn't dwell too much on past regrets, Greenstar."

       Greenstar whirled up to Tanglestar, bristling. "But if we do not pay attention to the mistakes we've made, there's no doubt it'll happen again!" she snarled. But then she crumpled, weak with worry, and her anger melted like snow on a sunny day. "We need to know where we went wrong." 

       Tanglestar crouched next to her and licked her ear comfortingly. "You know I don't like seeing you like this," he sighed. "How about this, let's recall the story, and maybe try to find what happened to cause this."

       Greenstar gave a weak nod, and took a deep breath to begin where she remembered it all started.

       "She was just an apprentice then," She started. "Just a few moons shy of being a warrior....."

\--------------------------------

       Icepaw stumbled, the weight of the large squirrel throwing off her balance. Specklecloud patiently waited at the Thunderclan entrance, purring in amusement. As soon as they caught up, Icepaw gave him a playful glare. "You could have helped, you know," she playfully scolded the tom. 

       Specklecloud shrugged his shoulders as they entered. "Then everyone would think that I caught the squirrel. And you won't want that, will you?"

       Icepaw looked away. She was abnormally small for normal cats. Despite being the oldest out of all of the apprentices, her grey-and-white fur only reached a little higher than the others. She always wanted a chance to prove she didn't have to be big to do cool things. 

_ Like catch this enormous squirrel!  _ She thought triumphantly. She held her head as high as she could as she stomped through the clearing, unable to brag due to the large amount of fur in her mouth. She proudly placed the squirrel at the top of the fresh-kill pile, and watched her fellow apprentices come back from their duties to compliment her. Her friend, Harepaw, came rushing in from her very first border patrol. She was the most recent apprentice, and as a kit looked up to Icepaw because she was the oldest. She raced up to Icepaw , before screeching to a stop, and noticed the squirrel. Her eyes widened. "Whoa," she breathed. "Did you catch that?" 

       Icepaw nodded, and was about to open her mouth to brag, until she hears shrieks coming from the entrance tunnel. She pressed her ears close to her head as she recognized those voices. 

       Eaglepaw, Birchpaw, and Flarepaw all bounded in, each carrying a piece of prey in their jaws. They ran over to the fresh-kill pile, and buried Icepaw's squirrel in their own prey. Icepaw glared at the three. Birchpaw noticed the squirrel, and his face lit up in surprise. "Whoa, who caught the ginormous squirrel?" He asked to nobody (or maybe everybody). "It could feed the all of the elders!"

       Icepaw puffed up her chest, prepared to surprise them. "I did." She proudly announced. 

       The three whipped their heads around at her, first in shock, but then they all doubled over in laughing. "You!" Eaglepaw chortled. "What, did you sneak into their dens 'cause they thought you were one of 'em?"

       Icepaw glared at the three apprentices.  _ Ugh, they're acting like a bunch of kits!  _ They clearly didn't believe her. 

       "She did actually catch it." Icepaw perked up at the voice of her mentor Specklecloud coming up. Eaglepaw, Birchpaw, and Flarepaw all stopped laughing and stared at the warrior in disbelief. "H-how?" Flarepaw asked. Specklecloud gave a lick on Icepaw's head, which she quickly shook off. "She may be small, but she's nimble." He answered. "She was able to climb that tree faster than the squirrel ever could!"

       Icepaw felt a mixture of relief swell into her chest, and she puffed it out. She smirked at all three of the apprentices smugly, especially at Eaglepaw. She  _ hated  _ Eaglepaw. All three of them jealously glared back at Icepaw, but she stood unwavering. The three sulked off, ready to find something fun to distract them that they were just shown up by the shrimp.

      But that was when Icepaw saw something. When she looked back behind her to see the apprentices leaving, she saw Eaglepaw look back. "Congratulations." he mewed. But it wasn't think with sarcasm, it was genuine. 

       Icepaw stared in disbelief. Why in the world would Eaglepaw ever to that? It was so confusing, it made Icepaw feel even angrier at the jerk.  _ I bet he's just going to play nice so that he can catch me by surprise. Well, I won't fall for it! _

       That's what her mind was thinking, but in her heart, she felt like she could fly to Starclan and back.

\--------------------------------

       "She was so innocent then," Greenstar gave a weak smile. Tanglestar cocked his head in confusion. "Yes, it is quite sweet," he admitted. "But why on earth was this moment when Icebreath was an apprentice so important in the long run?"

       Greenstar looked at Tanglestar, a sad wisdom in her eyes. "Eagletail played a large role to the eventual banishment of Icebreath."

       Tanglestar gave a slow nod. "So, you're saying this is when their relationship truly began in a good direction?"

       Greenstar silently nodded, before continuing the story, at least as much as she could recall in her head. "The next important time is when Icebreath finally became a warrior, along with the other three...."

\--------------------------------

       "....from this moment on, you will be known as Icebreath. Starclan honors your virtues, and we welcome you as a full member of Thunderclan."

       Willowstar rested her muzzle on the newly named Icebreath, and in return she licked her shoulder.

       "Icebreath! Eagletail! Birchnose! Flamesong!" The crowd chanted over and over, and Icebreath felt satisfaction run through her like a thick river. She looked to her right to see the other three apprentices stand as equals with her. Not in height, though. Icebreath's slow growth in height eventually stopped while the other two kept going. Now, the other three stood over her. But that didn't mean anything. They were all finally equals. It didn't matter who was the oldest, or who was the biggest, now it mattered about what they did for the clan from now on. And Icebreath was ready to make her mark. 

_ The good type of mark, though,  _ she corrected herself.  _ Of course. _

       They all stepped down to the central ground, and the crowd scattered. The only ones left were the four new warriors to stand vigil tonight. 

       Icebreath walked off to go stand guard, expecting to be alone, but she soon heard pawsteps rushing up from behind. She looked behind her to see Eagletail at her side. His eyes said everything.  _ Let me come with you. _

       The two stood in silence that night, just like tradition. But even if they could talk, they wouldn't. The two didn't need to talk to be happy together.

\--------------------------------

       "Come on, we're almost there!" Swiftstone, the medicine cat, encouraged. "Just push a little more!"

       Icebreath bit down on the stick in her jaws, trying not to scream in pain. After another painful minute, it all washed away, just like that. Icebreath was still exhausted, but at least the searing pain was gone. She took in deep gasps, and looked up. She felt comfort to see Eagletail worriedly looking down at her. But he was'nt able to stay there for long, before Swiftstone brought him over. "Lick this kit clean while I take care of the other one." She ordered. Eagletail immediately obeyed, and began licking the kit as gently and swiftly as he could.

       "How many?" Icebreath asked, still exhausted. It mewled again and crawled over to Icebreath's belly and began suckling. Icebreath looked at the still body of the kit over at the other end of the nursery painfully. But then she looked down to the one who survived. His colors were just like Icebreath's, but for him instead he had a white body with a gray stripe running down his back.  _ At least I have one beautiful little kit with me.  _ She thought as she lied her head down, and closed her eyes.  _ And I have Eagletail with me, too.  _

 

\--------------------------------

       Greenstar suddenly stopped in her story. She looked down in grief, and dug her face into her paws. Tanglestar looked at her, concerned. "What is it?" he asked her. She just shook her head, but she soon regained her composure. She sat straight again, and looked at him directly, a controlled expression in her green eyes. She took a deep breath. "I can do this," she told herself. Tanglestar looked at her. "I think I know where this story is going."

       Greenstar shut her eyes tightly in pain and nodded.  _ She was always so gentle,  _ Tanglestar thought.  _ Though she often will recall mistakes we have made, she doesn't like drifting over painful memories.  _ He stopped thinking about that, though, when Greenstar was finally able to go on.

\--------------------------------

 

       "When is papa coming back, mamma?" The young and innocent Sagekit asked, looking up at Icebreath with worried eyes. Icebreath looked down with calm eyes. "Don't worry, my little tom," she comforted. "Daddy's just going out to beat in some Windclan heads."

       Sagekit nodded. "It's cuz they've been stealing our prey, right?" He asked. Icebreath nodded. "Soon, papa's going to come back with some great stories to tell about how brave he was," Icebreath nuzzled the little kit. "So just be a little patient, alright?"

       Sagekit crouched down, trying to settle down, but his haunches kept impatiently wriggling back and forth. After a few seconds of the kit trying to sit still, he popped back up like a rabbit. "How long do I have to wait?" He whined. Icebreath chuckled. "My, it's a bit too much to ask for you to wait, isn't it?" She looked at the bouncing kit. "Fine. How about you see if the other kits in the nursery can play with you?"

       Sagekit groaned. "But they're so booooring!" He complained. "I'm the oldest here, and they're all such softies! I wanna play with the older cats, over in the apprentice's den!"

       Icebreath purred in amusement. "You may be the oldest in the nursery, but you're still too young to be playing with the apprentices."

       The little kit gave a huff of frustration, and stomped off. Icebreath watched as he moved to the other side of the nursery, which was the farthest he could move away from her. 

_ If he starts making trouble over there, I'll call him over.  _ Icebreath thought as he sat in a corner in anger at her. She gave a sigh, and rested her chin down to take a small nap. Honestly, she couldn't understand how the little kit could have so much energy bundled up inside of him. 

       But as soon as she closed her eyes, she heard shouting outside. She instantly snapped to attention, her ears perked up high in the air.  _ What in the name of Starclan is going on?!  _ She thought. She stood up, and began to walk out of the nursery. She stepped outside into the clearing, and she saw that cats were coming in from the front entrance tunnel, shouting something. One of the warriors stepped up to go to the leader's den, while the others went to greet their loved ones. Icebreath frantically searched through the sea of moving pelts to find striped yellow in brown, but to her dismay, she found nothing. Finally, cats stopped entering in through the front entrance, and cats were now gathered into the clearing, the leader standing tall as she looked over them. "We lost the battle," Willowstar announced. Rage bursted from the crowd, as protests were launched in the direction of the leader, but she stood firm. 

       "Please, settle down," Willowstar attempted to calm the crowd. "This feud with Windclan is not over, this is just a minor setback."

       That was when one of the warriors that was sent to battle came up to her, and whispered into her ear. A shocked expression came onto Willowstar's face, and she looked over the crowd of expectant cats. She looked down sorrowfully. "I'm afraid there's something else we need to say."

       Willowstar looked over at the entrance, waiting, and the other cats followed her gaze. That was when Icebreath heard it. It was the sound of something dragging across the ground. Cold dread sunk into Icebreath's stomach, and her fears came true as she saw two more cats coming in, but they were walking backwards, pulling something. They were dragging a body, and as they finally came all the way through, horror filled Icebreath as she saw a familiar brown and yellow pelt on the corpse. 

       "Eagletail!" Icebreath screamed, racing over to her mate's body. She bent down, smelling the familiar scent in his fur, as if it was still trying to keep him alive, though he had likely been long into Starclan now. Icebreath wailed in grief as she tucked her nose into his fur. His body was so  _ cold.  _ "Eagletail!" she screamed again. "Nononono, please don't leave me!"

       The other cats looked on in pity as Icebreath continued to mourn. Sagekit went to the entrance of the nursery to see what was happening about his father, but one of the queens quickly ushered him back inside. Icebreath stood there in vigil all night, not wanting to part with the body. But Eagletail's familiar scent soon faded, and she was forced to watch from the entrance of the nursery as the other queens took Eagletail's body to who knows where. Icebreath didn't want to know. 

       She didn't talk at all that night, even whenever Sagekit nudged her, asking her what was going on. The scene in the clearing had long since left, and the little tom was only left with any questions, like where his father was. Icebreath didn't answer a single question. She stared into nothingness in that time, lost in a dark forest of grief. 

\--------------------------------

       "Greenstar," Tanglestar interrupted. Greenstar looked up at him. "Huh?" she asked. She had spaced out during this sad time in the story, and was now completely unaware of what was happening. "What is it?" she asked. 

       Tanglestar looked at her with gentle eyes. "I know what happens next. How about you let me tell the story for now? You don't look so good."

       Greenstar looked away, her pride injured, but she nodded, and listened as Tanglestar spoke.

\--------------------------------

       Icebreath acted very strange from then on. Very strange indeed. At first it seemed as just a period of mourning that she was going through. She wouldn't leave the nursery, she would barely move around, and she talked to almost nobody. The only one that she could have what could be considered normal conversations with was Sagekit. At this time, and all the queens agreed, Icebreath needed Sagekit now most of all. She had already lost a kit, and now her mate, the only way to keep her from staying in the abyss of sadness forever was Sagekit's begging mew, asking to have his old mother back. And she would return, but only for him.

       But after a moon, her behavior began to shift. It went from just a time of grief to something very odd. At first it seemed lifting. She was finally moving around (though it was only limited to the nursery), and talking with the fellow queens, and other cats that passed by. She seemed to be bouncing back to her old self. After all, Icebreath was always able to bounce back by looking at the positive, just like her delivery night. 

       But then she began to seem a little...off. Queens began to notice that she would sometimes lie down in corners of the nursery for hours at a time, not moving. It wasn't like when she was grieving before, though. Her eyes wouldn't move a bit, and she would hardly blink. And even more unnerving was how the queens would sometimes catch her muttering to something, even with nobody near to be able to hear her. And when cats did come in, she would quickly stop, and resume to being a little more normal, though her talk always felt like she was hiding something. 

       It kept going on like this, as she continued supposedly "healing". She came into contact with more cats, and was even allowed to go hunting to clear her mind. She seemed normal at first, and if you described how she normally acted, you could say she nearly had a full recovery. But to be there, she was so uncanny she made others around her feel uncomfortable. 

       All except for Sagekit. He never shied away, or tried to avoid her. He didn't care that she was acting strange. He just wanted to see her happy again. He did get his wish, but only once. Only once did he see her smile since Eagletail had died, and it was when she thought she was all alone. 

       Icebreath's behavior finally reached its peak when on one night, Sagekit followed her outside. The kit seemed excited at first to finally be able to go outside, but in the morning, Icebreath came back, yowling in pain as she told a sad tale in between grievances. She was going out to make dirt, when Sagekit had followed him. During then, a badger had appeared, and killed the small kit. Icebreath was only able to make it out with her life after she saw the little kit crushed. 

       Warriors went out to find the body, and when they did, it was horrifying. Sagekit's head had been smashed in, killing him instantly, and hopefully it was painless. Perhaps Icebreath's grief had gone numb, because she didn't grieve in nearly the same way. She lived for a great many more moons, but was soon a victim to the Great Fox Attack.

\--------------------------------

       Tanglestar looked down at Greenstar, who was hiding her face once again. "Do you understand what happened?" Tanglestar tried to explain as gently as possible. "There were many holes in her explanation, and when we looked back we saw what true horrors had happened. Icebreath  _ killed  _ her own kit, her last living family. Her grief had done something in her head, because it was clear she was slowly losing it." he gave a deep sigh. "That kit would have grown up into a great leader, and had he lived, many, many less deaths would have happened at the Great Fox Attack. Do you understand why she needed to go to the Dark Forest?"

       Greenstar didn't look up. Tanglestar's talk clearly had not helped. He didn't know what to do. "But I understand what we did wrong." Tanglestar said, trying to cheer her up a little. After all, it was all in the past. "We should have done something to help Icebreath before her limits were pushed. We should have told Swiftstone something, but we did nothing. Next time, we should try to take action if we see something foreboding like Icebreath again."

       Greenstar took a deep breath, and got herself up. Emotions were clear in her face, and before she could control herself, she shouted at him. "But that's not what really happened!" She screamed. Tanglestar looked at her in shock and confusion. "What do you mean?" he questioned. Greenstar looked behind at the pool. The reflection had long still faded of the mourning cat. "I've been looking at the pool many times," she explained, her voice shaking and her breath uneven. "I've been looking back at what happened." Greenstar looked back at Tanglestar. "And I figured out the whole story."

       Tanglestar looked at the she-cat with wide eyes. "What are you saying? What really happened that could change everything?"

       Greenstar took a breath, and closed her eyes as she recollected what  _ really  _ happened.

\--------------------------------

       Icebreath sat in the corner, spaced out so much she couldn't even hear Sagekit's mewling. But then a different meow rang in her ears.

       " _ Icebreath."  _

       The queen sat up in surprise, causing her young tom to stumble back. The voice was familiar. But no, it couldn't be...

       "Eagletail?" she whispered.

       Sagekit heard this, and perked his ears up. "What are you talking about, mamma? Papa's not here."

       Icebreath didn't pay attention. She kept her ears up, and tried to listen. Then she heard it again.   _ "It is me, Icebreath." _

       She gasped, and immediately tucked her head in a corner so that Sagekit couldn't hear her. "How?" She whispered. "I saw your body in front of me, what's going on?"  _ I must be going insane,  _ she thought.

_ "You're not losing your mind. I've come from Starclan to speak to you once more. Please, tell me, how is my little tom?" _

       Icebreath was so enthralled she didn't stop to think that Eagletail would likely already know, so she told him. "He's missed you so much," she whispered. "We all have, but he's growing up healthily. He'll become an apprentice soon." She purred. She heard Eagletail purr as well.

_ "That's wonderful. I'm sorry I left so soon, I wish I could be there right now to see him grow with you." _

       "Don't worry, it's not your fault." Icebreath replied. "But I do wish you were still with me."

_ "Well, now we're together again. You can get out of the nursery, get some fresh air. You've been locked away for far too long." _

       Icebreath nodded and obediently stood up and began walking out the nursery. One of the queens noticed, and she immediately smiled. "Icebreath!" she exclaimed. "You're finally getting out! How are you feeling?"

       Icebreath ignored the queen and left the nursery. She blinked at the bright light of the sun, before she sat down in front of the nursery. The air was cool and refreshing, and Icebreath took a deep breath of it, immediately feeling better. She couldn't understand how she could have stayed in that stuffy nursery for so long. She suddenly turned around abruptly when she heard a squeal behind her, and she turned to see Sagekit running up to her. "You're finally out! You're back!" he exclaimed. His white fur reflected the light, and he looked so much brighter than he was in the nursery. Icebreath purred. "That's right, I'm back."

_ And so is Eagletail.  _ She silently thought to herself.

\--------------------------------

       Sagekit buried his paws into the ground, pulling as hard as he could, his small teeth clamped tight on Icebreath's tail. He pulled as hard as he could, but his weak kit body limited what he could do. Icebreath watched in amusement. The bite barely hurt her tail, and she was too busy watching the cutie play with it. Icebreath looked up from the playing to see that the nursery was empty. The other queens had gone outside to enjoy the sunshine, and the kits followed just to play in open space. With only Sagekit nearby, she could talk. "We're alone, Eagletail." 

       Eagletail had told her to keep his presence a secret, because he was going against the rules in Starclan that you could only communicate with the living for delivering prophecies, and you had to be chosen before you could go. The only one he allowed to know was Sagekit, because it would be difficult to keep a secret from him, since he's always near Icebreath. 

_ "Thank goodness, I thought they would never leave." _

       "I know, but you were always so patient. Besides, knowing you're here makes the wait much more bearable." Icebreath replied, keeping her voice low so that nobody outside would hear her. Sagekit, though, could hear. He stopped tugging on his mother's tail and hopped up to her. "Are you talking to daddy again, mamma?" he asked. Icebreath nodded. "But it's our little secret, so you need to keep your voice low when you're talking about him, okay?" 

       Sagekit nodded. "Okay." he whispered.

_ "That's my kit,"  _ Icebreath heard Eagletail say.

       Sagekit couldn't hear Eagletail, only Icebreath could hear his voice. "Your father's very proud of you, Sagekit." Icebreath told her son.

       The little kit's eyes lit up. "Really?!" he exclaimed, excited. Icebreath nodded. "Oh, yeah!" Sagekit cheered, hopping around the nursery. Icebreath purred in amusement. "Alright, remember how you need to stay quiet?"

       The kit had a look of dawning realization. "Oh, right!" he remembered. He bounced over in front of his mother, and placed his behind on the ground, trying to keep still. Icebreath chuckled. "You just have to stay quiet. You can still move."

       Sagekit said nothing in response, but instead replied by hopping around, trying to release all of his extra energy into  _ something.  _ Icebreath didn't bother the kit's bouncing, she simply lied her chin down on the ground and closed her eyes. "I love you Eagletail," she whispered.

_ "I love you too." _

 

\--------------------------------

       "I have to say, Icebreath's really been bothering me recently." Petaldrop murmured. She and the other queens had gathered outside of the nursery so that Icebreath wouldn't be able to hear them. 

       "Yeah," Cloverwing agreed. "Even though she acts like she's getting better, something's......off about her."

       Moonmask nodded. "Even though she moves more, and actually walks outside, she still stays in the nursery."

       "Well, one could argue that it's because she still has to look after Sagekit." Cloverwing reasoned.

       "And she does look after him now, unlike when she was grieving." Petaldrop pointed out. "But still..."

       "Exactly!" Moonmask exclaimed. "She seems like things are going good, but when nobody's around, or when she thinks nobody's listening, she acts so strangely."

       "Yeah, she mutters to herself often, and hides herself in the corner for so long." Petal drop looked back at the nursery. "I bet you the biggest prey in the fresh-kill pile that she's doing it right now while we're gone."

       "But here's the really strange thing," Moonmask though aloud. "She's never really alone. Sagekit's always with her."

       "Oh my, you're right!" Cloverwing realized.

       Petaldrop licked her paw and rubbed it against her muzzle. "It's possible that he's in on the secret, then, because he probably hears her."

       The other two nodded. "Well, we need to do something about it." Cloverwing mewed. "We can't just leave her all alone, can we?"

       Moonmask shrugged. "But how can we approach her? And how can we tell if it's a bad thing? After all, she takes care of Sagekit, and her own health. Is it really that harmful if she acts a little strange? She's probably still just getting over her grief." 

       The others shrugged. They looked at each other with uncertainty, then looked back at Moonmask. "Maybe we can just watch for now. If things begin to go wrong, we'll step in." Petaldrop confirmed. "Are we on agreement on that?"

       The others nodded, and the queens all walked to the fresh-kill pile to enjoy their meal.

\--------------------------------

       "What does Papa think about my fighting skills so far?" Sagekit asked as he tackled Icebreath's tail. "And how about my hunting skills?" Sagekit got into a hunting position and wriggled his haunches for a few moments before pouncing on it and sinking his tiny teeth into her tail like it was a juicy mouse. Icebreath winced a little at the sting. He was only a couple moons old, but she could already tell that he was growing.  "He says you're a natural," She repeated Eagletail's words. "And that you've got your father's strength. You'll grow into one of the best warriors someday."

       Sagekit's eyes lit up. "Maybe even become leader?" he asked with joy. Icebreath gave a nod, and Sagekit let out a squeal of delight. "I'm gonna be leader! I'm gonna be leader!" he ran in circles around the nursery, announcing his future success, despite the nursery still being empty. 

       Icebreath purred and caught the running kit as he passed by the scruff to pull him to a stop. "Now, just because your destined to be a leader, you can't be lazy and expect everything to come to you. A good leader works hard for the sake of his clan."

       Sagekit nodded vigorously, absorbing every word. Icebreath smiled at him, and nudged him on. "You can go play outside today. I think you're old enough."

       Sagekit gasped, and immediately vanished from the nursery to go play outside. Icebreath, feeling tired from being around the energetic little kit all day, rolled onto her back and began to fall asleep. "Our son is going to be a great leader, honey."

       Silence. Icebreath opened her eyes and looked around, as if it would help. "Eagletail?" she quietly called out.

       There was no reply.

\--------------------------------

       "Wait, wait, wait!" Tanglestar interrupted again. Greenstar paused in the story and looked at him with curiosity. "What's wrong?" she asked. Tanglestar shook his head in confusion, as if trying to shake off what she just told him. "This doesn't make any sense!" he exclaimed. 

       "When Eagletail died, he came up to Starclan. But he never told any of us that he communicated with her! Why would he never bring it up when we decided to send Icebreath to the dark forest?"

       Greenstar closed her eyes painfully. "I'll explain everything in the end, and then it will all make sense." she opened her eyes again. "Now, can I continue? Without interruptions?" she looked at him.

       Tanglestar gave a huff. "Not for a while now, but this is all so hard to wrap my head around."

       "Don't worry." Greenstar reassured him. "You'll understand everything, and then you'll see why I am so fixated on what we did to this mother." Greenstar looked back behind her at the pool again. Icebreath was in the reflection again. She was done grieving, and was now curled up, asleep in the bushes, emotionally exhausted. Greenstar looked down guiltily. "Now where was I? Ah yes, it was many sunrises later when Icebreath had finally heard the voice of Eagletail in her ears again...."

\--------------------------------

       "Oh, Eagletail!" Icebreath breathed a sigh of relief. "Why did you leave me? I got so scared, and so did Sagekit!"

_ "I'm sorry, but I think other members of Starclan are onto me. I had to leave to join in a meeting about something, to make myself less suspicious." _

       "Alright then," Icebreath nodded. It was the middle of the night, and even the energetic Sagekit was curled up close to her body. "It's alright then. Sagekit will be so relieved you didn't leave forever."

_ "I would never do that to him, and I would never do that to you." _

       "Thank you." Icebreath whispered. She lied her head down again. Now, she would finally be able to sleep, knowing that Eagletail was still with her. She closed her eyes, and dreamed of nothing.

 

\--------------------------------

       "It's great that you were finally able to come back out again, and get your own food!" Harebreeze rejoiced. Icebreath nodded, and took another bit of the shrew. She was famished, but wanting to show self control, she took careful bites. But after a few bites, she quickly began wolfing down the whole thing like a fox. Harebreeze laughed at how Icebreath was trying to act proper. "Hunger can really make it hard to act proper, am I right?" she joked.

       Icebreath laughed. "Yeah. I was so hungry, I'm already done." Harebreeze looked down at the finished shrew and stared at Icebreath in shock. "Wow, you must've had the hunger of a thousand kits to be able to finish it that fast!"

       Icebreath purred at Harebreeze's surprise. "And I'm still hungry."

       Harebreeze immediately dug into the fresh-kill pile and pulled out a squirrel. It reminded Icebreath of that large one she caught when she was still an apprentice. She stopped reminiscing on fond memories, though, when she realized what Harebreeze intended to do with it when she pushed it in front of Icebreath. The mother's eyes widened. "O-oh no, I can't possible take this! There are surely other cats that are hungry, too!"

       Harebreeze rolled her eyes. "C'mon, prey had been good this season. Besides, you've been in that nursery for so long! Just look at you!" Harebreeze gestured at Icebreath. She looked down at herself. "You're practically fur and bones!" Harebreeze exclaimed, poking at Icebreath's belly. "Everybody would agree that you need a bit more food to get back to your original weight."

       Icebreath shifted uncomfortably, but hesitantly took a small bite from the squirrel. Now that the shrew had eased the more barbaric side of her, she was able to control herself, and was even able to let the flavor sit on her tongue a little. "Thank you," she mumbled through a full mouth.

       "Hey, you're my best friend. Did you really expect me not to help?" Harebreeze remarked.

       Even with Icebreath having more control over herself, the squirrel was still finished quickly. She licked her chops, then abruptly stood up and looked at Harebreeze. "Sorry, but I have to go back to the nursery now."

       Harebreeze looked at her, horrified. "But this is the first time we've been able to be together for so long?! Why are you going back to the nursery??"

       Icebreath chuckled. "Harebreeze, you seem to have forgotten that I still am a queen, so I have a kit to watch over. The others have taken him off my paws for long enough."

       Harebreeze whined. "But I haven't seen you for so long! I was hoping we could catch up more than what we just had."

       Icebreath turned around and walked back to Harebreeze. She gave her friend's ear a lick. "Don't worry," she purred. "Sagekit's growing everyday. Before you know it, we'll be hunting together, just like the good old days."

       Harebreeze grunted, then slouched down. "Alright, but first thing out of the nursery you're going to come with me to hang out outside." Icebreath nodded. "Alright, deal." she replied.

       Icebreath turned back to the nursery and padded back, where an impatient Sagekit was waiting.

\--------------------------------

       "Mama?" Sagekit asked. Icebreath snapped out of her stupor and looked at the kit. "What is it, honey?" Sagekit looked back at her with worried eyes.

       "Where has Papa gone?" he quietly asked. Icebreath hissed in panic.

       "You can't talk about that when there're others here!" Icebreath whispered. She looked to the other queens, who were too busy with their own kits to hear either of them. Icebreath looked back at Sagekit, who had large eyes because of Icebreath's scolding. Icebreath sighed. "Look, I'll tell you later."

_ "No." _

       Icebreath took a sharp intake of air and bit her tongue from jumping up in surprise. The queens looked in her direction. 

       "Hey, Icebreath, are you alright?" Petaldrop asked her, a worried look in her eyes. Icebreath took a deep breath. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just need some fresh air."

       Icebreath stood up and began padding out of the nursery. She sat down at the entrance and blinked her eyes at the bright light, trying to contemplate what Eagletail had just said, and why. Icebreath looked behind her at the other queens. "I'm going to take some dirt. Could you keep Sagekit under control?"

       Moonmask smiled. "It's fine, Sagekit knows us well enough to not go tearing around the whole place." Icebreath nodded. "Alright, thank you." she purred.

       Icebreath padded out of the den and through the clearing, towards the entrance to go outside. Icebreath slipped through the tunnel, and began walking away from the dirt area. Icebreath looked over her shoulder to make sure nobody was there, before turning back and whispering, "Eagletail? Are you there?"

_ "Of course I'm here."  _ Came a reply. 

       "Why did you say no when I told Sagekit that I'd tell him about you later?" Icebreath questioned, a slight fury in her. Sagekit had no idea if Eagletail would come back! She couldn't hurt him like this.

_ "It has to do with what I discovered when I was gone for a few days." _

       "What is it?" Icebreath pursued.

_ "Your son, our son, he follows a path of blood and murder. Starclan is doubtful about it, and is now waiting in the hopes that he may change, but I have seen him from a closer view. There is no stopping him once he is a fighting equal to those who dare oppose him." _

       Icebreath gasped. "A-are you sure there is no other path that he might follow?" she stammered, her voice quaking. Icebreath closed her eyes tight in dug her head into her paws. It was all so much to take in. But how could she possibly believe that? Surely even a Starclan warrior can make a mistake? Maybe Sagekit will grow up to do great things!

_ "You don't believe me, do you..."  _ she heard Eagletail murmur. Icebreath looked up in panic, as if there might be a physical manifestation of her mate's voice, and could look at it. "Of course I believe you, love, it's just all so much to take in..."

_ "Liar!"  _ Eagletail's voice boomed _. "I knew I shouldn't have trusted you. But I thought that maybe you, of all cats, my mate, would understand how hard it is for  _ me  _ to tell you this. Heck, I bet you've already sucked up to another tom, and forgotten me already! " _

       Icebreath's eyes widened. "No, no, no! You can trust me! I do honestly believe you! I know it must be difficult for you too! There's nobody else I love but you! Please don't leave me." she begged. She heard a sigh in the wind.

_ "Alright, because I do still love you, but I'm still suspicious of your loyalty. Do you truly wish to serve your clan in the best way possible?" _

      Icebreath nodded vigorously. "Of course! Anything for my clan, and especially for you!" She closed her eyes tight, and readied herself to do any task.

_ "You must get rid of Sagekit, before he is strong enough to defy you, for the sake of our clan's future."  _ Icebreath looked up again, her eyes opening. "You can't possibly mean...?"

_ "Yes."  _ Eagletail's voice was mournful.  _ "I do." _

       Icebreath bit her tongue to prevent herself from shrieking, and began taking pawsteps back. "I-I can't... h-he's the only family I have left," she looked down in shame and grief. A sad sigh.

_ "I'll be with you the whole way. He's not your only family. But, if you truly wish to let your clan fall, I'd be best if I left-" _

       "No!" Icebreath suddenly shouted. She stood up, trying to recollect herself. "I'll do it for you, love, and for the clan we grew up in. I...just need some time to think of what to do. The rest of the clan would surely see me as evil."

_ "Alright, that's my mate. Make sure to keep Sagekit under belief that I have't come back yet. We can't let him know that we're plotting something." _

       Icebreath sadly nodded. "Okay." And then she began to walk back into camp.

\--------------------------------

       "Momma! Momma! You're back!" Sagekit squealed as he pounced on his mother's tail. Icebreath looked at the cheerful kit and purred in amusement. "That's right, I'm back."

       Icebreath looked at the other queens, with their own kits. "I hope he wasn't to much trouble," she said apologetically. The other queens shook their heads. "This is the second time I've had kits, dear," Petaldrop purred. "I know how to deal with them at this stage."

       Sagekit's eyes lit up at the memory. "Oh, it was so fun, Momma! She taught me some awesome hunting stances, and even this special fighting move in case I'm ever in danger! Watch this!"

       Sagekit targeted the nearest thing to attack, which in this case, was another kit of the nursery. Sagekit swept his legs on the kit's making it fall over and squeal in fright. Once the kit was down, Sagekit pounced on it, and began to wrestle. Granted he was a little gentle, but the kit was gentler. It shrieked in both terror, and maybe even in pain.

       "Rainykit!" Moonmask cried out. She rushed to her kit in terror and shoved Sagekit off of Rainykit. She snatched the young kit by the scruff and began moving her away. Once they were as far as possible, Moonmask put Rainykit down and hissed at Petaldrop. "How dare you teach him those moves just so he can go hurting my kit!" Then she snarled at Icebreath. "He's your kit! Teach him some self control!"

       Sagekit pressed his ears firmly against his head in fear. Petaldrop looked at Moonmask with wide eyes. "I-I never thought he'd hurt any of the kits! He's never done this before!" 

       Icebreath stared in shock, wondering at what had just happened. She stared at Rainykit with concern, where she saw small bite marks on the poor young kit. Icebreath whirled around to look at Sagekit. "You  _ bit  _ her?!" 

       Moonmask looked down and noticed the bite marks and screeched. Cloverwing jumped up. "I'll go get Swiftstone." She said as she padded out of the nursery. Icebreath looked at Sagekit in rage. "You know how young Rainykit is! Why did you  _ bite  _ her?!"

       Sagekit shuffled a little and looked at his paws. "I just got a little into the moment..." he mumbled.

       Icebreath looked at Sagekit in confusion and horror. Sagekit had always been kind and gentle with the other kits. What had caused this sudden aggression?

_ Maybe,  _ Icebreath thought with dread.  _ This is the early stage of Sagekit's path to becoming a monster? _

 

\--------------------------------

 

       Despite having gotten such a harsh scolding the other day, Sagekit barely faltered in aggression. Icebreath looked from the nursery at her son in worry as she watched him face the apprentices head on with his little bragging. He was too far away for her to hear anything, but she saw him puff out his chest and say something. The other apprentices smirked, and Sagekit crouched down on his haunches in a fighting position. Alarm shot through Icebreath as she realized what was about to happen, and she sat up abruptly and rushed over to him.

       All of the apprentices froze when they saw her running over, but didn't seem to notice, as he kept his eyes locked on his to-be attackers. Only when his mother was just a tail-length away that he realized that his foes weren't backing down because they were cowards, and he looked at Icebreath in surprise.

"Why are you here, mother?" he asked, his eyes wide in surprise. Then he gave a look of realization, and smiled. "You're here to watch me crush these apprentices, I bet! Well, stand back, and enjoy-"

       "That's absolutely mouse-brained of you!" Icebreath scolded, not even letting Sagekit finish his boast. "I didn't raise you to pick on fights on cats that are twice as big as you!" Sagekit shifted in his paws, uncomfortable. 

       "They're not  _ that  _ much bigger..." he mumbled. He was right, he was getting very close to their size.

       "They're still apprentices, and they have more training than you!" Icebreath vented. She took a deep breath, and steadied her voice. "Look, you're growing fast, and you're going to become an apprentice very soon. Can't you just wait a little more before you start fighting other apprentices?"

       Sagekit looked at the ground and pawed with the dirt a little, before giving an exasperated sigh. "Fine, but only because I'm gonna be apprentice soon. Then I'll be able to show off all of my awesome fighting moves!"

_ Is it always about battle with you?  _ she thought, a little sad. But she nodded, and put a pleased look on her face. "You can still play with them, just don't pick fights."

       With a nod of agreement from Sagekit, Icebreath turned away and padded back to the nursery, where some wide-eyed queens were watching.

       Giving a deep breath, Icebreath plopped down, and lied her head down. The queens looked at her. It wasn't after a few silent moments Icebreath heard voice speak to her. It was Moonmask. 

       "Look, Icebreath, I know that you're protective of your kit; we all are, but those apprentices were planning to go easy on him. Sagekit was never in any real danger, and you kind of overreacted over there."

       Icebreath flicked her eyes over to the black and white queen. She looked at Icebreath with large eyes of worry. Icebreath sighed. "I suppose I did overreact. Maybe I'm just scared at the idea that Sagekit is going to be going to be a fighter so soon. I'm not sure if I'm ready for something like that."

       Petaldrop smiled, her eyes full of sympathy. "I understand," she mewed. "and I will agree, it's not smart for a kit to pick fights with his seniors, even if it's not too big of an age difference."

       Icebreath purred. "Thank you."

       Petaldrop nodded, and turned her head to give attention back to her own kit. For the rest of the day, Icebreath watched her little fighter play with the apprentices.

_ I feel like I can maybe suppress the bloodthirsty side of him, but it seems that I can only delay it. Once he's become an apprentice, they will give him a path that embraces that part of him, and I won't be able to stop it. _

 

\--------------------------------

 

       Icebreath watched Sagekit wiggle excitedly. Tonight he was going to be announced as an apprentice, and Sagekit couldn't be anymore impatient. Icebreath was on the verge of meltdown. Once Sagekit became an apprentice, there was no way that Icebreath could stop him from a dark path without anyone suspecting her. 

_ "What are you waiting for?!"  _ A voice roared in Icebreath's head, making her jump. The other queens looked at her. "Is something wrong?" Moonmask asked. Icebreath quickly shook her head. "No, it's nothing. I think there might be a thorn in this moss. Here, let me check."

       Icebreath buried her nose into the corner of the nursery, trying to look like she was searching as much as possible. She continued looking around, ignoring the yowls pounding inside her skull. Fortunately, Icebreath found a thorn that  _ was  _ actually there, thanks to some of the apprentices.

       "Here it is!" Icebreath held the thorn in her mouth as she showed the other queens. "I'm going to take this outside, alright? Make sure Sagekit doesn't burst with excitement." Icebreath looked at her kit, amused at the fluff ball's excitement, until she was reminded on why she was leaving. 

       Icebreath stepped out of the camp, and spat the thorn away. "Eagletail, do you think you could be a bit less startling when you talk to me?" she spoke out loud, annoyance thick in her voice. 

_ "This is an urgent situation. You know yourself that we will be powerless to Sagekit's bloody reign if we don't do something soon. You have to take care of him tonight!" _

       The weight of that sentence struck Icebreath. She realized that for the past moon, Icebreath had been in denial, thinking that things were going to be alright. After all, how could she look at her own son, and see a monster?  She couldn't. He looked like the bravest, kindest warrior of the forest, one that would deny his dark path, and become a great leader. 

       But that was a false hope. This was a duty to Starclan, and how could Icebreath deny the wisdom of a Starclan warrior, much less her mate? Her face scrunched up in pain. "What do I need to do?" she asked, her head low.

\--------------------------------

 

       "Sagepaw! Sagepaw! Sagepaw!" the crowd cheered. The newly named Sagepaw quivered in joy to hear that name hit his ears. He puffed himself up to try and make himself appear as big as possible, but he ended up just looking like a small fluff of fur. 

       Icebreath should have purred to see her little son growing up, but tonight she had a rock lodged in her throat. This was the night, this was the point of no return. She had listened to Eagletail's directions carefully. 

       She knew what to do.

\--------------------------------

 

       Icebreath nudged her kit awake with her muzzle. "Sagepaw, wake up." She murmured quietly. The young apprentice mumbled something incoherent, and Icebreath nudged him again. This time Sagepaw blinked his eyes open tiredly, and gave a yawn and a stretch. He looked up at his mother with tired eyes. “Whuh...? Momma? What is it?” He mewed quietly. Icebreath looked around to make sure none of the other apprentices had waken up. Thankfully, Sagepaw was on the outside, being a new apprentice, and none of the other cats had even stirred. “Get up, Sagepaw. I want to show you something.” Icebreath whispered. 

“Huh?” Sagepaw whispered in confusion, standing up, his eyes fully opened now. “Show me what?”

“Just come with me, and I’ll explain.” Icebreath turned and started for the exit to the camp. She didn’t need to look behind to know that Sagepaw was coming, she could hear his small pawsteps following. 

Once they were outside the camp, Icebreath turned to her son. “You know I’m really proud of you, right?” She mewed to Sagepaw. Sagepaw nodded, and Icebreath purred. “Well, I wanted to show you a few tricks, so you could blow your mentor away tomorrow.”

Sagepaw’s eyes lit up. “Really?!” He meowed. Icebreath shushed him. “Yes, but we need to be further away from the camp. And keep your voice down. This is a secret.”

Sagepaw nodded, his jaws clamped shut, but as they padded on, it was clear he wanted to burst from excitement, and was doing everything he could to hold it in. 

It wasn’t long until Icebreath felt that they were in a good spot, far enough from the camp, but not too close to the border. Icebreath turned towards her son, and her hear both filled with love and fell with grief when she saw him wriggling with excitement. But she swallowed her grief down, and tried to look normal. 

“Alright, Sagepaw, I want you to give me your best hunting crouch.” Icebreath mewed. 

Immediately Sagepaw pressed his belly on the ground, and for a little bit she simply observed. Despite having a few things that needed fixing, the stance was actually quite good for someone who became an apprentice only earlier today. Maybe all that playing around when he was a kit  _ did _ pay off...

Icebreath shook off the thought, and stood behind Sagepaw. “Here, let me adjust something.” She meowed as she placed her paw on the back of his neck. Time seemed to stand still, she could feel herself shaking, and her ears were pressed flat on her head. But it only stood still for a moment, and Sagepaw noticed her pause, not doing anything. “Momma?” he mewed in worry and confusion.

 

_ Crack.  _

 

\--------------------------------

 

Greenstar was shaking; She hated telling the ending of that story. Tanglestar was clearly upset, too, his ears pressed down, and his eyes focused in front of him. “It wasn’t Eagletail, was it?” he murmured after a few seconds of silence. Greenstar shook her head and looked back at the pool, where the queen lie curled up. “I’m not sure exactly who it was,” Greenstar explained, her gaze focused on Icebreath. “But I know he’s in the Dark Forest down there, with Icebreath.”

She sighed and lied down next to the pool. “And I can’t help but worry if she’ll find him, and he’ll break her heart.”

“What do you mean?”

“She feels guilty about it all, but a small part of her is hoping that she did the right thing, and that Eagletail is proud. Although, many of those hopes plummeted when she found herself in the Dark Forest.”

“What do you want then? To bring her here?”

“There have been many cats that got tricked by cats in the Dark Forest, and have still ended up in Starclan. We could maybe convince the others.”

“Greenstar, you know that it takes a lot of reasons to bring a cat from the Dark Forest. It can be very dangerous, and we need a good reason to risk it, and Icebreath didn’t do anything redeeming afterwards that could convince them that she’s more than just a murderer.”

Greenstar sighed again. “So what do we do then? Leave her there, suffering, and just ignore it?”

“You have a good heart, Greenstar, and you’re thinking in your best interests for Icebreath. But there are others we need to consider.”

As if on cue, the pool rippled the image of Icebreath away as tiny pawsteps approached them. Tanglestar and Greenstar both turned towards the young cat, hiding the emotions from the conversation before and purring. 

Sagepaw looked up at them with large eyes and smiled back. “Shadowtail is calling for you two.”

“Why?” Tanglestar asked, his head cocked to the side. 

Sagepaw shrugged. “I don’t know, he’s calling a lot of other cats. He just wanted me to go get you and a few others.”

Greenstar stood up and began padding towards where Sagepaw came from. “Come on, Tanglestar, lets not have Shadowtail wait. You know he can be a bit impatient at times.”

Tanglestar followed, and Sagepaw began to follow as well. 

But right before he did, he looked back at the pool, now crystal clear, and a look of thought came across his face, before he followed the two leaders, and all three left the grief-stricken queen and vanished in the mist. 

  
  
  



End file.
